eubank



(No Model.) V 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. EUBANK.

GAR ROOF.

No. 591,665. Patented Oct. 12, 1897.,

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. EUBANK.

GAR ROOF (No Model.)

Patented Oct. 12,1897.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. T. EUBANK.

GAR ROOF.

No. 591,665. Patented Oct. 12,1897.

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M y M i M M l M M w l y M M M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESTERN RAILIVAY EQUIPME ILLINOIS.

NT COMPANY, OF EAST ST. LOUIS,

CAR-ROOF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,665,, dated October 12, 1897. Application filed December 30, 1896. Serial No. 617,528. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it ntag concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS EUBANK, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski, State of Arkansas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gar-Roofs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings,forming a part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car-roof embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on line m m, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the end of one of the truss-rods.

The roof of a car is one of the most important parts in car construction, as its functions are to protect the contents of the car from damage. For some unexplained-reason, little thought, until recently, has been given to the causes of failures of car-roofsas to whether such failure was due to lack of strength in the construction or to the roofsheathing employed. In most cases the blame was laid on the iron or tin forming the roofsheets or the manner of joining the sheets to-,

gether, when, as a matter of fact, the cause of failure was not due to the material employed in the roof-sheathing nor the manner of joining the sheets together, but was due almost entirely to the lack of bracing the roof. (Jars as ordinarily constructed have no strength in their roof-supports, because the purlins, carlines, and ridge-pole are not put together to resist the torsional or twisting strain to which a loaded car is subjected in swinging around curves. The roof-supports in ordinary cars yielding under such strain cause the roofing-sheets to buckle and break, rendering the roof useless for the purposes for which it was designed-that is, shedding water and preventing its entrance into the car.

My invention contemplates an improvement in supports for car-roofs,and is comprehended in the lateral braces which I employ and the manner in which I truss the roof-supports. I

do not claim that lateral braces in car-roofs are broadly new, for it is a well-known fact that they were used many years ago,the braces being taut in the carlines, purlins, and ridgepole flush with the same. The manner in which this construction was put together made it very expensive, the cost prohibiting its use in ordinary cars. I do not claim to be original in the application of carline-rods to tie the upper portions of a box-car together; but I do claim the manner in which I use these carline-rods, making them the trussrods, and also the manner in which I secure these truss-rods in place to prevent the nuts from coming loose, which would render the rods useless, and I also claim the use of the rods in securing the hood in position.

In the matter of bracing the roof-supports I claim the lateral braces in skeleton form and also the manner of applying strips to the ridge-pole, purlins, and carlines to make said parts flush with the braces.

In the drawings, A indicates the side walls of a car; B, the plate; 0, the cornice; D, the hood, and E the roof-sheathing. These parts may be of any ordinary or approved construction.

throughout the length of the car-body. Theends of the several pieces forming these diamonds are preferably jointed together in such manner as to make a solid structure. These braces are nailed orotherwise secured to the plate, carlines, purlins, and ridge-pole, upon which they are primarily arranged in constructing the roof-support according to my invention.

h, f, g, and h are strips of a thickness substantially the same as the thickness. of the lateral braces I. These strips are arranged, respectively, upon the plate, ridge-pole, purlins, and carlines, their office being to build up the plate, ridge-pole, purlins, and carlines, so that the upper faces of said parts will be flush with the lateral braces. These strips fit snugly against each other and against the J indicates truss-blocks secured to the sides of the carlines beneath the ridge-pole, which truss-blocks are recessed in their lower ends to receive the truss-rods K. The ends of this truss-rod pass through the plates B, side wall A, cornice O, and hood D. Suitable threads are cut on the ends of the rod, and a nut is is turned down against the plate 13 and into a recess in the side wall A. This enables the tension to be placed upon the truss-rod, and by reason of the nuts fitting into non-circular recesses in the walls A they are prevented from coming out by turning backward. If desired, recesses could be made in the cornice to answer the same purpose. The cornice O is arranged over the nuts and prevents their outward movement. A washer is is strung on the rod between the cornice and hood D, and the extreme outer ends of the truss-rod hold the hoods D in position supporting them at difierent points along the entire length of the car. A nut 70 is placed on the rod outside the hood, and. being turned down holds the hood in place. a

From the above description it will be noted that even should the nuts which impinge against the outer faces of the hoodsD become loosened the nuts which impinge against the platesB will still hold the body of the car rigid and prevent bulging.

I am aware that many minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my improved roof can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States, is-

1. In a car-roof, the combination with the roof-timbers, of braces arranged upon said timbers, and strips arranged upon said timbers to build the same up flush with said braces; substantially as described.

2. The combination with the plates, ridgepole, carlines and purlins, of lateral braces arranged thereon, and strips arranged on the plates, ridge-pole, carlines and purlins, to build said parts up and make theirfaces flush with the lateral braces, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the plates, ridgepole, carlines and purlins, of lateral braces arranged thereon in skeleton form, the ends of said braces abutting against each other form ing diamondshaped figures throughout the length of the car, and flushing-strips on the plates, ridge-pole, carlines and purlins, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the truss rod which passes through the plate, of a nut on said rod which impinges against the outer face of the plate, the side walls of the car formed with a recess which receives said nut,

a cornice arranged over the nut, a washer 

